Building Immune System - New Braunfels,TX

Hide jarred baby food in regular food to help him get more veggies without knowing it. Try carrots in the ravioli's or peas cooked into the meatloaf.

Hi B.,
I am a wellness educator and would be happy to help you with some supplement ideas. Let me know if you are interested.
Victoria

Not sure as far as supplements are concerned but what about a regular diet that includes O.J....

Vitamin C is a good one and the probiotics really do make a HUGE difference. My son has some every day. The most common thing is sinus related stuff. Keeping his nose and sinuses hydrated helps a lot. You can get an aerosol saline just for kids. A squirt in each nostril before and after school helps keep his nose clean. Another bit of advice...avoid antibiotics unless REALLY necessary. Many docs will automatically give them at the first sight of snot when what they really have is a virus. The best tip of all is to teach your kid to NEVER EVER share! I've told my son he can't share anything with anybody till he's at least 25!! We'll see how that works!

my kids started day care last March.. we collect a good amount of germs..lots of colds... just runny noses.. and about every other month.. a big virus.. fever cough and days off school. this is normal... if your child doesnt catch these bugs now.. he will catch them when he starts kindergarden, and be missing days of real school. Although my kids get sick.. they are just viruses.. their bodies fight off thebugs. they are 2 and 4 now and have only had 1 ear infection each.. So I think they are doing great and building up great immune systems.

young kids immune systems have never been exposed to all of htese viruses and they ahve to collect the germs so their bodies can fight them off.

give him a good diet.. plenty of rest.. you can certainly wash his hands when you pick him up.. but he will be touching things all day at the day care.

From the child care point of view...your child's immune system will be stronger from fighting off the germs he will be exposed to. Look it up online. It is normal for kids to get sick about every 6 weeks in child care...but I believe they grow up to be healthier adults.

In College we learned that scientists now believe that there is a correlation between children being too clean, or not exposed to germs, and MS. Many other diseases too. I just remember the MS especially because I have to friends that have MS and both of them came from germiphobe type homes. They got horribly sick when they started school and missed all the time, they were considered to be "sickly" children.

Some researchers believe that in our modern society that the kids do get to a level field at around 13.

There are several websites I found when I googled feeding your childs immune system, and childhood illnesses and child care.

I definately also reccommend Probiotics. They are spendy, but one package should last almost a month. I also reccommend smoothies. You can pack tons of fruit and veggies into them and he won't know what he's eating isn't a milkshake! We have put kale & carrots in our kids smoothies and they love them.

Sounds like you have a good diet going for him except the no green thing :) Greens are essential. The other two vegetables I recommend that are almost perfect foods are sweet potatoes and avocados. If you get those down him you've got a good start.

Two things I recommend is an absorbable multivitamin and a detoxed home. I say absorbable because most don't absorb and most kid vitamins are primarily sugar that contradict any of the nutrition that might be there. Flintstones or anything you pick up at the drug store cause more damage than good. If you are getting it at a health store it would be best. I only know of one that has been tested and is guaranteed to absorb.

The detox of your home will give his body a chance to get stronger. I'm sure the new daycare is full of toxins because they are required to use industrial chemicals and chlorine bleach and that can break an immune system down fast. If he is strong at home, he will be able to fight off the toxins in other environments.

Let me know if this is something you want to pursue and I'll walk you through it.

God bless!
M.

In addition to the healthy foods already mentioned, I am a big fan of Sambucus. My son used to get ear & sinus infections literally every other week, until our chiropractor told us to try Sambucus. Most natural food stores carry it, and I've also seen it at Walgreens under the name Sambocol. It's like a fruit concentrate, so my son loves the taste. I don't know what the stats are, but since I started giving it to him every day, he's hasn't needed antibiotics in almost 3 months. That's a record for us!

Our pedi had recommended Culturelle for Kids- little packets of flavorless probiotic powder that you sprinkle onto food. I even got the adult capsules for myself and we have both been very healthy since.

I haven't read the other responses so excuse me if I repeat.
Sounds like you are doing all you can. Only advice I have to add to the great job you are doing now is plenty of rest and fluids. You may want to push good handwashing habits a little harder and of course the keep anything that is not edible (and not on a table, LOL) out of the mouth. Also, teaching not to share food, drink, combs & brushes with other kids. Most daycares are mindful of this with the young children. Ask the daycare also how often they clean/disinfect the toys and other items shared. That helps to keep the illnesses down during the cold & flu season.
I know how hard it is to go from home care to daycare. That personal home touch with home care is very comforting to Mommy. On the other hand, learning social skills (the away from home ones) and "large" group cooperation and learning is a wonderful experience your child will have before going to school.
Best of luck.

In addition to what you are already doing, make sure he does the following:
- drinks plenty of water and stays hydrated
- gets a lot of exercise
- gets plenty of rest. Good naps and good night time sleep.
- washes his hands frequently. As soon as he gets home from daycare, after coming inside from the outdoors, before meals, etc.
- Also eliminate unnecessary sugar and processed foods from his diet

I also second the probiotics recommendation.

The best way to boost anyones immune system is to make sure their body is functioning at 100%. The only way that is going to happen is if the nerve system is complete uninterupted. I recommend you find (for all of you) a great chiropractor that is not a pop and fix pain kind of doctor, but one who practices full body health care. This chiropractor will no and explain to you that the brain controls everything including your immune system in your body and the only way for the nerve system to work correctly is to not have interferrance coming from a misalignment in your spine(subluxation). Misalignments are very common and actually people develope their first subluxations during the birthing process. My children have been getting adjusted since well 1 for my son which is when I learned all this for my self. And the girls were adjusted right after leaving the hospital. My youngest was at the chiropractor before she was even brought home. Check out local chiropractors in your area. If you are having trouble finding one let me know.... I know my chiropactor has many friends or colleges in Tx and can assist in finding a great one for you.
Also look up mercola.com Dr. Mercola has alot of advice on how to naturally heal and treat just about everything.

I would recommend talking to your pediatricians office before giving your child any supplements.

You may not have any issues at all. My son was in a home daycare environment until he was about 19 months old. Then he started a traditional daycare. At daycare he got a few runny noses, maybe a few colds but he was not sick all the time. IN fact my pediatrician says he's one of the healthiest patients she has. So if you already give him vitamins then I wouldn't stress about it.

By having him in daycare and exposing him to germs it will actually strengthen his immune system naturally.

This may sound crazy, but my son goes to a "regular daycare" and has been sick often this year (he's 11 months). He was on anitbiotics and the dr. told us we could try probiotics (Cuturelle for Kids) and it seems to have helped him avoid the dreaded diarhea and other side effects of being sick. I also think it helps him out with eating new food, etc. We mix it in with yogurt, applesauce, bottles whatever we need to do to make it work for him and we think it helps. It's tasteless and disolves in anything. Just an idea.

I would suggest Olive Leaf Extract. I give it to my kids regularly... especially when this big Swine Flu scare was going round. Its really minimized our colds so far this winter. My son who is 7 has always gotten very sick with bronchitis and sinusitis come winter time, but I really feel because we have been taking the Olive Leaf Extract it has help significantly reduce him being sick so much. Here is the site I buy my stuff from :

http://www.olivus.com/

For the kids I prefer the Fresh Olive Leaf Elixir 4.0 oz (non-alcoholic) I give mine half of the 1 teaspoon serving it says to give. And I give it every other day. But, if they seem like they could be coming down with something I give them the full dose everyday until I feel they are better. It doesn't have the best taste, but if you mix it with a tiny amount of OJ or decaf tea, it's not too bad. I hope I was able to help in some way. I know how scary it is to have to take your child to an actual daycare facility. Best of luck to you.

ALSO, Starting now, since he is 2...really push the no hands in the mouth thing. I had always had a struggle with mine, but after awhile I feel they started to get the idea. Good luck with that. It's not easy.

This is my own personal belief but I believe when a child gets a cold you should not drug them up but let their bodies attack it.

I have a two year old and the only times she has had a cold & allergy medicine is when she has gotten a cough. This has only been twice in her short life.

As for sniffles, I only give her the saline drops. It takes a while to kick in but it does help. Actually, I have started using the drops myself.

Make sure the daycare believes in washing their hands before and after playing outside and eating. My daughter's school does this and I believe this has really limited her exposure to passing germs. Plus, I know each teacher is responsible for wiping down the toys and tables with disinfectant everyday. I have actually witnessed the cleaning.

She has only been sick once since she has been in school. She started at 3 months.

Exposure is the best way.

Also, echinacea is only good in small time sets. It is recommended not to be taken for longer than 2 weeks at a time. You should only take it if you are around sick people or feel like you are getting sick yourself.

Wash, wash wash. Make sure the daycare is following all the hand washing guidelines (which is just about after everything you do with your hands- I know from personal experience).

Good Luck- and warn your boss that your son is starting a new daycare.

Probiotics everyday. You can buy them at HEB. I order them from Vitacost.com. Ask the pharmacist, if you need help. They make them especially for kids. My kids love them. I also give them a multi-vitamin and DHA's. Make sure he's getting the right amount of sleep as well. But get ready, it's going to be a sickly year, I'm afraid. Unfortunately, that's just how it goes with little kids. Lastly, to sneak in veggies, make him fruit smoothies and throw in chunks of carrots, spinach, broccoli, avocado, red bell pepper....whatever you have on hand (I keep frozen veggies for this purpose). They cannot taste the veggies; the sweet fruit masks the flavor. Just don't let him catch you doing it! :)